“I’m afraid to tell you there’s no money left”, wrote the outgoing Labour Chief Secretary to the Treasury in May this year.

Reel back three years to the May 2007 Scottish local elections. The Liberal Democrats had become the largest party in the City of Edinburgh Council after 23 years of Labour control. A new Lib Dem led coalition with the SNP was beginning to look eagerly at how to change the city. We didn’t get a note. Instead, we got a stark warning from the Director of Finance that reserves were perilously low and the Council was heading for a …